Hardware :: Trackpad Alternatives To Magic Mouse?

Mar 4, 2010

After many years of using a PeeCee for my personal machine, I've switched over to Mac. I've never been a fan of trackpads for pointers/mice until I purchased my uMBP (2 weeks ago today). The MBP trackpad is the first trackpad I've used and liked.

I have played with the magic mouse a few times, and I just don't like the operation of it. It's too low to the desktop and I'd prefer something that is stationary for "mousing"...

Is there a good trackpad alternative for the desktops that uses identical gestures to the uMBP trackpad? I've seen the Wacom Bamboo family and see that they support gestures -- but I don't know if the gestures are identical between something like this and the uMBPs trackpad.

buying one of these to replace my mouse.There's no store where i live so i can't go into the store and try both I'v never tried the apple trackpad on their laptops either.I used a lot of windows laptops before and what i can say.They were so bad that i always had a little mouse in my back I rly don't know what to expect for the apple track pad.Can it replace completely the mouse and is it comfortable to work with ? Or should i go with the mouse ?

I'm looking to get either a Magic Mouse or the Magic trackpad to use with my iMac. Do they both work with Windows? My wife uses Windows Vista on bootcamp for work. Also, I do play some games, nothing heavy duty.Any other thoughts or suggestions would be helpful, especially concerning the magic trackpad as my experience with it is approximately 10 minutes at my local Apple store.

For those who have purchased the new iMac or are thinking of purchasing, definitely go with a Magic Trackpad. The Magic Mouse is a little better for dragging and dropping, but the Trackpad is so much more enjoyable to use for everything elseApple should really figure out a way to make this a packaging option

I just purchased a Apple Wireless Keyboard for my MacBook Pro. And I was wondering if I should get a Magic Mouse or Magic trackpad. I love to use my computer from my tv while I sit on the couch and I like to use it from a distance from my tv. Please help by reply and tell me.

I am currently using the Magic Trackpad and Magic Mouse at the same time and finding it to be a good setup.However there is one minor annoyance, they are both paired and recognised by the mac but I always have to go into bluetooth prefs and connect to the mouse whereas the pad connects automatically.Is there any way to make the mac auto connect to both devices at the same time to avoid this?

I recently got a preowned iMac which came with the Apple Wired Keyboard (with numeric keypad) and a Logitech mouse. Ive always been a fan of the idea of the Mighty Mouse even although it is old, the Magic Mouse looks really classy and cool but I do do a lot of graphic design and I am on the Mac quite a lot and I have heard it can get rather uncomfortable. And the Magic Trackpad, I am honestly not too sure about at all, what do you guys think would be best for me? I am a new Mac user so I am unsure what would be best for different features, thanks

For the most part, I prefer using a good trackpad over a mouse, but there are still some things that a mouse does much better (i.e games). Do you think (or even better - know) that I would be able to pair both my mouse and trackpad to my mac, using the one I prefer at any given time?

I'm a computer science student which sees me developing numerous applications and writing a load of essays. I'm looking to purchase either a Trackpad or Magic Mouse but am not sure which item is best suited to my needs.

Just unpacked my new iMac, the keyboard and mouse are powered up, paired, and discovered. BUT, I thought the "magic" of the mouse was that it's flat surface is supposed to work like a MacBook's trackpad. MINE DOES NOT. It just scrolls around, up and down within a window. Other than that, it works like a regular mouse, just move it, point and click. Is this right? Or did I mess up already? I called AppleCare and they say this is normal, but for what I paid, it should do more magic.

Brought home my new Trackpad all excited to try it out.Little tight on desk space but it serves its purpose.I have a new 2010 MB Pro which I was using with a BT MS notebook mouse with no problems.Install the Trackpad and its smooth as can be but now the mouse is choppy, likes its missing every other movement, everything from moving windows to moving through the dock.Turn off the track pad the mouse problem remains. Mouse worked perfect before installing the trackpad.

I have a Macbook Pro, running Snow Leopard and from time to time my mousecursor just disappears. It's not while I'm typing but when i just hover over the screen. This happens especially when using iPhoto and Safara but also with some other applications. The cursor usually appears again when I move it over the dock and back into the application but it's kind of annoying.

I have sold my 12" powerbook g4 and want to know if there is any software I can install to have trackpad scrolling for the new owner. I used to have the beta of Sidetrack but its now a paid for app. Are there any free alternatives?

If $$$$ is not an issue, here is an alternative for those people complaining about Apple's old Mighty Mouse & new Magic Mouse:ID titanium laser mouseThis mouse would double the value of your standard 21.5" iMac!

If I want to format my Mac Pro (6 core 3.33 GHz) and I have an Apple wired keyboard and a bluetooth Magic Mouse will the Setup Assistant be "smart" enough to pair the mouse with the computer or will I be stuck with no mouse during the setup process? Do I have to run the entire process with a wired mouse?

One of my absolute biggest pet peeves with the Mighty Mouse (aside from the input lag), was that you had to LIFT your middle finger off the right side of the mouse for the left click to register. You simply cannot rest your right-clicking finger on the mouse and left click with your pointer finger.

A large portion of last month for me was spent looking for a decent wireless mouse, and I was pretty hell bent on avoiding a dongle so I went for Bluetooth. In that time, I went through three mice:

Kensington Slimblade Trackball MouseLogitech V470Razer Orochi

While the Kensington worked mostly fine, the profile was really uncomfortable and the audible clicking noise from the trackball was insanely loud and drove me batty, so I returned it.

The latter two both had the same issue; lag. They lagged, badly. After less than five seconds of being idle they would go to sleep, and when you tried to move them they would jump across the screen. Sometimes they would ignore input entirely.

After some research, I learned that this is pretty inherent in the nature of Bluetooth, and only a select few vendors manage to make mice without obvious lag issues. The Kensington had only a bit, and most Apple mice have minimal BT lag as well.

At this point, however, I was done with trying Bluetooth mice. The increase in power consumption and lag was not worth the lack of a dongle. So I went looking for a mouse with a tiny USB dongle, and found this:

The receiver is really, really small. It's also part of Logitech's unifying series, which means you can pair up to six devices to it, if you have them.

source: [URL]I've been using it for about a week now, so here are my impressions of each of its features.

First, let's talk about the dongle. I seriously haven't thought of it since I put it in. 99% of the time I'm not using my USB ports for anything, so losing the port doesn't really hurt me in any way. The response time is amazing. I have to leave it for like a minute before I notice any lag upon moving it again, and even then it's pretty much unnoticeable. It's usable within half a second of turning it on and after that it's pretty much smooth sailing.

The mouse includes Logitech's Darkfield technology, which is pretty cool since it will track on just about anything except for a mirror. So, uh, those of you with mirrors for desks are still out of luck I guess? It works on glass that's 4mm or more thick, though!

The scroll wheel is quite cool. By pressing on the scroll wheel it can switch between click mode and free mode. The click mode works like every other scroll wheel you've ever used, it clicks when you scroll it. The free mode is quite impressive ... when you flick it, it's basically frictionless. You can use this to scroll through large pages very quickly. I can't help but liken it to the Magic Mouse's momentum scroll, except this is actually physical momentum.

As a useless sidenote, I managed to get it to spin for roughly twenty seconds!

You can also tilt the wheel left and right to scroll horizontally. Considering that you generally don't need to scroll horizontally incredibly often, I find this works very well for what it is. It certainly isn't as slick as the Magic Mouse's 360-degree scrolling, though.

The button behind the scroll wheel defaults to Expose, and there's front and back buttons under your thumb that are Forward and Back. Using Steermouse, you can program these buttons to do whatever you want them to do in whatever App you're using.

The build quality feels great. The sides have a rubber grip for comfort, and the body is made of a soft-touch plastic which, while not as deliciously suede-like as the Razer Orochi, is very comfortable all the same. The scroll wheel in particular feels like a real piece of machinery.

It takes two AA batteries. Um, yeah. Use rechargeable, they're cheaper in the long run and better for the environment!

Now, I know I've touched on the comparisons to the Magic Mouse earlier, but let's get more in-depth. First off, why would I bother to compare them? Well, I imagine most people looking for a mouse and own a Mac are going to jump to the Magic Mouse first, but I'd urge them to reconsider. Just because Apple makes it does not make it the best option.

The Anywhere Mouse MX is technically a notebook mouse (they make a desktop version, the Performance Mouse MX), so if you're considering it at all you probably have a Macbook. In which case, I'd be willing to come right out and say the Magic Mouse is completely useless to you. It has a few of the features your trackpad already has, but is missing a lot of the best ones. The lack of an Expose function in an Apple mouse should be criminal. Even the Logitech has this, and as maybe the most-used function of OS X -- for me, anyway -- not having a dedicated way to access it is unacceptable. If you already have the glass trackpad, the Magic Mouse really offers you nothing except the fun of pushing it around your desk.

Other standout features of the Magic Mouse:

360-scrolling: OK, yeah, the Magic Mouse wins this. The ability to scroll diagonally is awesome. I hope to see other mice incorporate this. However, the Logitech is able to scroll in every direction well enough for pretty much every task.

Um, right clicking: The Logitech does this shockingly well!

Back and forward: Surprisingly enough, pressing thumb buttons is significantly more comfortable than contorting your hand into a claw-like thing. Well, OK, you can simply lift your hand off the mouse to do these gestures, but that's bad too. Why have to do this at all? Apple's aversion to buttons strikes again.

Aesthetics: Make no mistake, the Magic Mouse is beautiful. I'd be lying if I said the Logitech is nearly as striking, but I think it is a good looking mouse in its own ways. I'm certainly not embarrassed to have it in my fashionista hands.

When comparing the ergonomics of the devices ... I mean, lots of people have tried to argue that the ergonomics -- or lack thereof -- of the Magic Mouse are a good thing, but it really reeks of justifying a problem after the fact. The Magic Mouse is not meant to be held by a human hand. Judging from its design, it is meant to be cradled by an oversized, inverted spoon.

And the dongle ... well, you saw it. It's tiny. It may bother you. It doesn't bother me.

I think that's really it. In the case of a mouse, physical, programmable buttons and an ergonomic design are really more important than gimmicks and superficial beauty. The Magic Mouse is a great concept executed poorly, and the MX series is a great concept executed greatly. Seriously, consider picking this up. It's the first mouse that's been able to pry me away from that beautiful, giant, silky trackpad.

Which mouse would you get? If you have either mouse. I am getting a new mouse and I am having a hard time choosing between both mice. I am on a budget and the Magic Mouse is cheaper, but if the Performance Mouse MX is better, I will get it.

My new Magic Mouse appears as a wireless Mighty Mouse on my iMac 10.6.2. When I open the mouse Preferences Panel, I get the options for the Mighty Mouse, not the Magic Mouse. It worked fine on my hackintosh with 10.5.8 but not with 10.6.2, so it seems the culprit might be in 10.6.2? It seems that USB Overdrive is the culprit for some, but I don't have it.

I'm using Jitouch 2 on my MacBook Pro for a couple of weeks now and it's just amazin.Since my new iMac arrived yesterday, i was wondering whether anyone has already tested the beta version of Jitouch 2 where support for the new Magic Trackpad was added.

"We're glad to announce that jitouch 2.3 beta now supports Magic Trackpad. But unfortunately, due to the new Apple's Magic Trackpad and Multi-Touch Trackpad Update 1.0, some of the gestures in jitouch no longer work properly and a few of them may be permanently removed from the next version of jitouch. We are currently working on updating our software and adding the next "cool" Magic Trackpad features."